Pottery Tutorial | Make a Hand-built Ceramic Sculpture

Hello everyone and welcome to this pottery tutorial. Today I'm going to show you how to create these forms that might look a bit complex at first, but you'll see that you can easily make them without any advanced tools like a pottery wheel. We'll make them together, step by step. The first stage, as always, is preparing the clay and choosing the right type. For this project, I'm using ceramic clay. It's very soft and fresh. The very first thing we need to do is knead the clay. As you can see in the video, you can knead it with your hands to remove any air bubbles. If you'd like to learn this process in more detail, I recommend watching the pottery school playlist, where I've explained these steps one by one in depth. Once our clay is ready, we'll move on to the next step. Working with the slab technique to start shaping our form. Now let's move on to creating our main form using the slab technique. What we're going to do here is give our slab a shape. Turn it into the form we want. To do this, you'll need two identical metal bowls, exactly the same size and shape. Place one of the bowls upside down on your slab and cut the clay around it, matching the diameter of the bowl's opening. Make sure your slab isn't larger than the rim of the bowl, because if it's too big, it won't fit neatly inside the mould later, and that could make your shape uneven or distorted. Keep the thickness of your slab about the same as you see here, roughly one centimetre or between one and two centimetres if you prefer a sturdier form. Next, carefully lift your slab along with the cloth underneath it. I recommend using a cotton fabric because it helps prevent the clay from sticking. Now place the slab directly over the mouth of the metal bowl and gently press it down with even, steady pressure, so it smoothly fits inside the bowl. Repeat the same process with your second bowl. Once both slabs are shaped, cover them with the fabric and let them rest until they reach the leather-hard stage. I personally left mine to dry for a full day before moving to the next step. Since I noticed that even after a full day the clay hadn't reached the right leather-hard consistency, I carefully flipped the bowls upside down and used a hairdryer to speed up the drying process a little. You can do the same if your pieces are still too soft. Just make sure to keep the dryer moving over the surface. Don't let the air stay focused on one spot for too long. If you overheat a single area, the clay can dry unevenly and that may cause cracks to form in your piece. At this stage, I'm going to join the two bowls together to form our main shape. It's quite simple, just follow along with the video and repeat each step exactly as you see it. If you have any questions while you're trying this part, I'd be really happy to help. Just leave your question in the comments and I'll get back to you. In this step, I'm going to make two coils and attach them to the top edge of the bowl. This will add a bit more height to the form, so in the end we'll have a larger and more balanced shape. until it reached the perfect leather-hard consistency. Then, I carefully removed both bowls from the moulds. Now, I need to cut out the opening of the pot. This will be on the bowl that's going to form the top half of the vessel. I do this very gently. Once that's done, I start joining the two halves together, so they form a single complete pot. The base structure for the rest of the work. Make sure the two halves are perfectly aligned and joined together. Then, using a small pottery tool or even your fingers, blend the seam from the inside. This helps the connection become stronger and smoother. Take your time with this step and be sure both parts are completely fused into one solid form. In this step, I'm using another coil to build up the neck of the pot. This is where I start to define its opening. You can adjust the height of the neck however you like. It completely depends on the style and shape you want to create. depending on the temperature and humidity in your workspace. You want the clay to reach the right leather-hard stage before moving on. At this point, the clay shouldn't be completely dry, but you'll notice it has slightly changed color. When you tap it gently with your fingers, it should feel firm, not soft, and it shouldn't leave a deep mark when pressed. Now it's time to start shaping your form. Using the tools you see here, begin to refine the surface and carve out the shapes or details you want. This is where your creativity comes in. Take your time and let the clay guide your hands as you work. Step by step, draw the shape you want onto your piece using a needle tool. Then, very gently, begin to cut it out with the same needle or a clay cutter. Take your time with this step. Move slowly and carefully, because if you rush, your piece may crack. After removing each cutout, smooth the edges with a slightly damp sponge. Not too wet, just moist. If possible, support the form from the inside with your other hand to keep it from bending or warping while you work. As you move forward with each step, try to refine and smooth your piece along the way. Keeping the surface clean as you go will make the final finishing stage much easier, especially if your clay becomes too dry later on. Once you've shaped the upper part of your form the way you like, you can turn the piece upside down and gently place it back into the mold. From there, carefully start carving out the lower half, taking your time to keep the shape balanced and steady. Now, let your piece dry a little longer until it reaches a firm, leather-hard stage, almost ready to dry completely. At this point, you can use a very fine sandpaper to gently smooth the surface of your pot. Giving it a soft, calm and refined texture. I let my piece rest for a full day before reaching this stage. Remember, at this point, your clay is very fragile, especially if you're working with ceramic clay, so handle it with great care. Move your hand slowly and gently, and if you want to clean or smooth the inside, slide your hand in and out very carefully. Even a small, sudden movement here can cause your piece to crack or break. So, I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and found it helpful. If you liked this video, please share it with your friends, and don't forget to subscribe to the channel for more pottery lessons. And if there's any specific technique or project you'd like me to teach next, just let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear your ideas.